Angel Boy's New Home

If you visited the Brackettville cemetery between 2016 and 2024, you may have been lucky enough to see a little Chihuahua living on the premises. Some locals believed that he lived there because he was mourning the loss of his owner, and that story went viral throughout the town. It’s a touching story, but sometimes fiction can be harmful, especially in the case of Angel Boy, which is the name that grew on him. The rumor said that he was not able to be rehomed because he would just cry constantly until he was free to return to the cemetery. I found this story hard to believe, especially realizing that living at the cemetery meant Angel Boy was alone most of the time and exposed to harsh elements, not to mention predators. It seems that even a dog experiencing profound grief would want to love again, have a family and live in a safer and more comfortable environment.

So, being inquisitive by nature, I started to ask questions to Brackettville locals.The truth eventually spilled out. Angel Boy’s owner was not buried at the cemetery. In fact, he was found there, just a wounded scared animal, seeking a quiet place. The truth was heartbreaking to me, especially when I realized that the fictional legend was why he was “stuck” there. I tried capturing him in the summer of 2023. My husband and I coaxed him with treats and ended up running after him throughout the cemetery. I’m guessing those of you that know him also know that he moves fast! We were unsuccessful that day. I decided to reach out to Austin Pets Alive (I live in Austin) and also BARC Uvalde, but they were unable to offer help since Angel Boy was located in Brackettville. I talked about Angel Boy to so many people, family, organizations, and to my surprise, most people discouraged me from trying to rescue him. They said, “Maybe he likes being there,” and “But the cemetery is all he knows,” and “You would be traumatizing him if you took him away from there.” I just didn’t see it that way. There is a reason why a dog is referred to as man’s best friend. They are social animals. They want to be with us. They want their pack. It’s the only way to thrive. Feeding a stray dog is not providing that dog with anything more than the basics to stay alive, and Angel Boy deserved more than that. I know there was a woman that was dedicated to feeding Angel Boy daily, making sure he had water and providing him with blankets in the harsh cold weather. It gave me solace knowing that he was at least being fed.

In the early morning of July 11, 2024, I drove from Austin to Brackettville with a live trap in the backseat of my car. I was determined to bring Angel Boy home that day. I stopped at a Walmart in Uvalde where I purchased a rotisserie chicken. I had not seen Angel boy in a year, but when I arrived at the cemetery, there he was, sitting in the little dog house that someone left for him. I stayed far away as I prepared the trap with chunks of warm delicious chicken. I drove over to Angel Boy’s spot, and of course he walked away. I set the trap a few feet from his little house and drove a few hundred feet away, and just watched. It turns out, he really loves rotisserie chicken. He walked deeper and deeper into the trap wolfing down chunks of chicken, until I saw the door shut! I couldn’t believe it. Angel Boy lived in the cemetery for 8 years and in less that 20 minutes, I just changed his life. I imagined that he would be crying all the way home, but he slept in the cool AC for the entire three hour drive.

Once Angel Boy was in my home (adjusting quicker than I expected to his new environment) I noticed he had no teeth, not a single one and his coat was paper thin on some parts of his body. In August, after being “home” for only about 6 weeks, Angel Boy had a frightening seizure. He ended up at Austin Veterinary and Emergency Specialists (AVES). After a lot of examination and testing, we discovered that his parathyroid gland does not function properly which resulted in a life-threatenly low calcium level. He is now on calcitriol, a medication that allows his body to absorb calcium. He will be on this medication for the rest of his life. It’s easy to administer, just a .15 mil from a syringe, but it needs to be compounded through Peoples Rx and it is quite pricey. According to doctors, because Angel Boy’s calcium level was slowly dropping, without medical attention, he would have displayed severe neurological abnormalities, lethargy and eventually seized and died at the cemetery.

Today, Angel Boy is a feisty energetic little dog with a huge personality that I never expected. He loves riding in the Jeep and going to Starbucks on Sundays for his pup cup. He sleeps deeply every night in a cozy queen size bed, snuggled under the covers way past dawn. He has a family, a human one and a dog one. He has a pack now and I know he loves being a part of it. I am not just happy that I rescued Angel Boy from the illness he was quietly suffering from, I’m also happy that I recognized the opportunity to give him a chance at a new life, one that all dogs deserve. Angel Boy is still a Brackettville legend, but with a happier ending.